


sleep well, little soldier lad

by astrologians



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: M/M, also you can read it as shippy fic but it's not really OUTRIGHT but it's there if ya squint a little, idk brief mentions of everyone else, mentions of anxiety medications, mentions of drinking and smoking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-20
Updated: 2014-12-20
Packaged: 2018-03-02 09:34:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2807804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astrologians/pseuds/astrologians
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><em>sleep well little soldier lad</em><br/>sleep well my little soldier boy<br/>sleep well and think of me</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Bitty's trying (and failing) to study during a Haus Party and Jack crashes on his bed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	sleep well, little soldier lad

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kola21](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kola21/gifts).



> falls to ground, bloody, and tired. shakingly, raising a hand and offering this piece of ??? towards the sky whispering quietly "i tried my best" before passing out of exhaustion. 
> 
> this is so late and i feel so bad but!! here's my secret santa present for: kola21 !!

Haus parties, Eric decided, were only fun if you were actually participating in the party.  On any other occasion they were stressful and frustrating to put it lightly. They were even more so when you were studying for three tests the following day, as well as trying to finish an essay that should’ve been done last week but there were more important things to do like twitter and baking.

So far, he already shooed away five couple who’d entered his room assuming it was empty and were intending to use his bed to do things he’d much rather never picture people that weren’t him doing on his bed. He could feel the music shaking the floor and Eric knows he asked Ransom and Holster to at least _try_ to keep it down which they probably didn’t because it was _Ransom_ and _Holster._ They also promised him that there wouldn’t be a Haus party that night. If he had known they were going to throw one, Eric wouldn’t even have stayed there. He would’ve gone to the library or something. Hell, even _Faber_ would’ve been a better choice. At least there he could think about the history of colonial America in peace.

But it was too late. If he left the Haus now, his room would be commandeered _somehow_ , and god knows what people would do in it while he was gone.

Shaking his head, Eric turned back to the textbook in front of him. Maybe if he played Queen Bey _really loudly_ that’ll drown out the sound of the party downstairs. Maybe. Probably not.

A loud crash echoed from the floor below, and Eric nearly fell out of his seat. Several cheers from hockey bros and non-bros alike rang out through the house. Okay. Definitely not.

Sweet baby Jesus, what were they even _doing_ down there? He moved to get out of his chair but then immediately sat back down. No. He couldn’t leave. If he left than somehow he’d be dragged into whatever was causing the ruckus downstairs and his grades would suffer. He _refused_.

Taking a deep breath, he turned back to the textbook. Focus. He could definitely focus. Focusing was totally his forte. Maybe. Hopefully it was. It really needed to be, considering this essay is supposed to be worth nearly half of his final exam grade, and he’d only gotten the introduction done.

Normally, when he was having trouble finishing an assignment, he’d go across the hall and study with Jack. Eric normally got more work finished when they were working together. It helped being able to bounce ideas off of another person whenever he was stuck. The pleasant silence that normally filled the room was nothing like the stressful buzz of lone studying, and it was a change that Eric welcomed. Plus, it was impossible to get distracted when you had a large, mildly annoyed hockey captain glaring at you in your peripheral vision.

But, of course, Jack had ducked out before any of the party-goers had arrived. The senior was still missing, two hours later. He’d probably gone to Faber to get some extra skate time before going to bed. Unlike Eric, Jack actually finished his homework early and didn’t wait until the last minute before panicking and trying to finish every assignment at once.

The door opened behind him, and Eric didn’t even glance up before speaking, “This room is _occupied_. Please find another.” The closed quickly, accompanied by the sound of drunk giggling.

Six couples. He’d shooed away six couples. Eric thought about locking the door, maybe _that_ would have an effect, or maybe a sign.

Groaning, he shook his head. _Focus._

“ _ADAM BIRKHOLTZ_ ,” Shitty yelled from downstairs. “ _YOU FUCKIN’ BEAUT. TAKE A LOOK AT THIS GUY, EVERYBODY.”_

Eric dropped his head onto the keyboard of his laptop. Who was he kidding? He was never going to get any work done with the bedlam going on downstairs. He should’ve known better than to believe that his team mates would throw a party to help relieve stress for upcoming finals. However, all it was doing for Eric was create more stress and _GOD_ did he need to get out of that environment if he was ever going to get any work done.

He let his head rest there, allowing himself to sulk for a moment.

But then that moment ended quickly with a light but purposeful knock on his door. _Well,_ Eric thought bitterly as he stood up, crossing the room to shoo away more people. _At least they knocked._

“Look, I’m sorry,” Eric said as he threw the door open. “You can _not come_ in- Jack!”

Sure enough, a slightly distressed looking hockey captain was standing in front of him, with a slightly awkward expression on his face. Slung over the senior’s shoulder was his hockey bag, and with still damp hair, Eric figured he’d just come back from Faber.

Jack took a step back, accidentally colliding with a person trying to scoot around him. He mumbled out an apology before turning back to Eric, “I can go-“

“No, no, you’re fine,” He quickly said. “I thought you were someone else. Come on in, no not _you,_ ” Eric added as a partygoers pushed themselves off the wall, intending to follow Jack inside. “Y’all stay _right there_.” Once Jack was inside, Eric closed the door quickly. He knew it was rude but he could not afford to have too many people distracting him while he worked.

Jack was hunched over, looking at his laptop. “Still working on your paper?”

“If by working you mean, trying and getting absolutely _nowhere_ ,” He sighed. “Then yes.”

Shaking his head, the senior moved to sit down on Eric’s bed. He dumped his hockey bag on the floor. “You really should’ve gone to the library, dude.”

“They said there wouldn’t be a kegster today.”

“You _believed_ them?”

Eric sighed, rubbing at his eyes. “I was naïve and foolish.” He crossed the room, sitting back down in his chair and turning to his laptop. Maybe he should just give up on the essay for now and study for his Calc test because god knows he might have gone to class, and learned the material, but who knows if he actually _retained_ any of it. “Mind tossin’ me that textbook?”

Jack did so, poorly stifling a yawn as he handed the book over. When he saw Eric’s expression he slouched forward a little. “Sorry, didn’t sleep well last night. Was kind of hoping to make up for the lost hours tonight _but…_ ” he broke off, gesturing vaguely to the door and the party beyond it.

Nodding, he replied, “Well, if you need to crash, go ahead. I’m probably pulling an all-nighter again to study, oh don’t give me that look. Isn’t it passed your bed time?” _That_ earned an eye roll. “But, seriously, go ahead if you want.”

Pursing his lips, Jack scooted back on the bed, “Are you sure?”

This time, it was Eric who rolled his eyes, “Didn’t I just say it was alright?” He waved his hand. “I’m not using it and, sorry, your room is probably occupied at the moment, so…” he trailed off, choosing instead to frown at his calc textbook. Was this even _math_? 

He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. This was going to be a  _long_ night. 

Meanwhile, Jack had scooted further back on Eric’s bed, before laying down completely. He hadn’t been lying when he said he didn’t sleep well the previous night. Maybe a better explanation would’ve been more along the lines of not getting any sleep at all, but that would make Bittle get worried and _god_ he hated making him worry. His plan originally had been to have an extra practice and (hopefully) crash the moment he entered his bedroom.

That was, of course, before he realized there was a _Haus party_ going on and he’d left his door unlocked and to be honest, he didn’t know _why_ he was surprised when he walked in and found several groups of people in various stages of drunk and high collected together in his room. Even if you ignored the couple that were making out on his bed, sleeping in there was probably _not_ going to happen.

Jack closed his eyes, trying to force himself to relax, to stop _thinking_ so much so that way he could at least get a few minutes of shut-eye before he took the test he’d spent the past week studying for.  For once, he was actually _glad_ for the loud music, its thrumming against the walls was a bit easier to block out stray thoughts and daily worries. They were still there, nagging at him from the back of his mind, but at least now he could try to focus on deciphering the words to what he thought was Nicki Minaj or somebody.

He drifted in that no-man’s world of half sleep for a while, music dulling as his eyes grew heavier. Jack was enveloped in the softly muted sounds of the party around him and the scent of cinnamon that was coming off what Jack believed were Bittle’s sheets. The smell was comforting and warm and he was somehow simultaneously caught off guard and completely unsurprised on how much he liked the smell and the affect it was having on him.

It didn’t take long after that for him to fall into a pleasant sleep, somehow unaffected by the noise perpetuated through the Haus.

 

**ooooo**

 

“Shits,” Holster asked the next morning, walking into the kitchen. “You’ve seen Jack or Bitty anywhere?”

Shitty looked up from the refrigerator door. “Yeah, man. Upstairs. Don’t bother them, though.” He pulled away from the appliance, holding a piece of pie that had been hidden away from before the party. Thank fuck nobody had eaten it during the night.

“Wait, why?”

“Because they’re both passed the fuck out in Bitty’s room, and can I just say, it’s downright goddamn adorable. I took pictures." 


End file.
